The Glorified Babysitter
by Kita Kudai
Summary: Given an internship by Tony Stark to perhaps talk the newly punished Loki into turning over a new leaf. That shouldn't be so hard, right? Wrong. This is the God of Lies we're talking about here. Nothing can be simple. Otherwise there would be no character building, or so she keeps telling herself. OC/Loki
1. Chapter 1

I wrote this as a reader-insert request for Deviantart but I decided to make it third person and post it to fanfiction as well.

If I owned Avengers, do you think I would be here?

* * *

"Where did he come from?" she asked.

The raven haired man was sealed tighter than a tomb. He was chained to the wall, with a muzzle around his face. Darkened bruises lined his features. Furious green eyes watched the camera in the corner. He may have been a nice man if he hadn't been sealed away the way he had been. She had been selected by Tony Stark himself to serve as his aid. She was to just take care of him, feed him, and guide him to the showers (where guards would watch at all times. That was an awkward thought), and provide company until the Avengers could decide what to do with him – seeing as he had just tried to take over the world and was banished from his home until he could redeem himself in his father's eyes.

"Well, when mommy and a daddy have marital problems that includes secretive adoption," Tony said, "One of the sons decides to throw himself off a rainbow bridge and tries to take over another planet."

She blinked. Right. Rainbow Bridge meant the Bio-Frost. She swallowed nervously. So she would be living on the floor with this man – this Loki. He only tried to take over the world. She wanted to hit herself. Why? Oh why did she have to agree to this internship? Oh, right. She needed the money. As a poor starving college student, she had jumped at the first opportunity for a job. She had been delighted that it was Tony Stark – Iron Man. Now, she wasn't so sure she was lucky. She was pretty sure that someone up there was laughing. Fate and Irony were toasting wine glasses while they waited for Life to pop the popcorn so they could watch as she tried and failed to… Befriend a God? Yeah, she was screwed.

But, a job was a job. She had to do this. She needed this money and Tony knew it as well as she did so she couldn't exactly say no to the man. So with the best stony face she could muster, she picked up the tray and took a deep breath. Tony watched with amusement dancing in his eyes. At least he thought something was funny. She was pretty sure she was walking into her end by doing this. She straightened her back and stood tall, pretending like everything was okay, when really she felt like she was about to melt under the pressure that she was being forced under. She wanted to go home, crawl under the bed sheets with a tub of ice cream and not come out for a month or so. That would help her forget about the whole ordeal.

"Don't worry, Mia. If anything happens, we'll be there real quick. Just remember, no hickies!"

She rounded on him with a horror-struck look upon her face but before she could say anything, he beamed a million watt smile. With that, he pushed her through the doorway and the next thing she knew, she was in the cell with Loki – God of Mischief. The man looked at her darkly, swearing death to her. She exhaled a shuddery breath. She set the tray down when the doors sealed behind her. She would be locked in from behind, trapped with the mad man until she could get him to talk about why it was that he tried to take over the world. It would be easy – real piece of cake, right? Superheroes were watching over her, right at that moment, ready to jump in if he tried anything to hurt her. Why didn't that thought make her feel any better? Oh, yeah, she was in the room with the psychopath.

* * *

Three weeks. She had been going to Loki's floor for three weeks. He had yet to say a word to her, though she chattered incessantly. She had taken the muzzle off of him, after asking Tony if it was okay. All Loki did was glare at her. She followed her orders and tried her best to prove to him that she really was trying to befriend him. Thor said that if Loki wanted her dead, she would have been already so it counted for something. She wasn't sure if that was supposed to soothe her or make her even more anxious. If Loki didn't want her dead, then what did he want from her? She sighed to herself as she walked over to the glass door.

She smiled at the S.H.I.E.L.D agent at the door. He had been so good to her since she had started working for Tony. He had recently been wounded and was now staying with Stark for a little less 'tedious' work under orders of Director Fury himself. He was a pleasant enough man, with patience like the Gods themselves. He had to have patience if he was to work under Tony. There were times when she wanted to throttle the billionaire playboy. Yet, she continued to work for him. Her internship was only so long. She had another two months and one week left before she would go back to her normal life.

"I was unaware that you were on your feet once more, son of Coul."

She jumped in alarm and spun around. Loki was now standing free of all his chains and the muzzle. This was the first thing she had heard him say since she was locked in on his floor. She hadn't even seen him get out of the chains. This only made her more aware of how dangerous the situation was for her. Loki walked over to her, touching her side as if it were his god given right. Seeing as he was a god, he probably gave himself the right. She brought her hand up to her mouth to disguise the squeak of fear that escaped her lips, though the God heard it all the same and smirked. He did love causing mischief, even though this was low-level teasing, but it provided him some form of entertainment as he plotted a way to escape.

"Must have slipped my mind," Coulson admitted.

"Wait, what?" she interrupted, "How would he know you survived?"

Loki leaned close to her ear and she tensed. His lips teased the shell. Could this be considered sexual harassment? He wasn't very well one of her co-workers. What would she say to the therapist that she knew she would need after this job was over? I was harassed by the God of Mischief? Yeah, they would lock her away as soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth. Loki seemed to realize this so he held her closer to his person, her back now pressed against his chest. She could feel his heart pounding underneath his leather outfit and her uniform. Coulson's lips pursed in dislike for the God who held she like a lover.

"I do not miss my target," Loki whispered with a smirk, "If I had meant to see son of Coul dead, he would be dead."

Coulson inclined his head when she looked back at him, frowning. Phil? Dead? The thought sent a pang through her being. The agent merely shrugged, as if this sort of thing occurred on a regular basis. These agents were insane. How was almost dying something they could just shrug off? She loved her country as much as anyone else but dying seemed a bit extreme. What point would dying have if she could have made something better in the future if she hadn't been brutally murdered at the hands of a psychopath. And she was in the arms of one such insane villain. She really, really wished she had reconsidered her agreement to the internship. Was it too late to go to the other company that offered she less for a little bit more mundane paperwork and phone answering? Yes? That wasn't fair.

"I thought you had been told nothing vital was hit."

Now her panicked eyes widened. The God of Mischief shrugged, so very uncaring. He probably relished in the fact that he had the power to kill she with the single twist of his wrist and she could do nothing to stop him. Phil could do nothing but watch him because only Tony had the access code to open those double glass paneled doors. Plus, they were bullet proof. Why did the genius have to be too good at his job? Never before had she wanted a hero before in her entire life, but yet, she was still alive. And still Loki held her in his arms, like a doll he was unwilling to let go of. Yet, he made no moves to show this so acclaimed 'true power' of his.

"Some mortals must be left alive to rule," Loki said, "Otherwise, I would lead a very dull Kingdom."

"Congratulations, Agent," a new voice said, "You've impressed the God of Lies."

She could see Tony through the glass door as well. He was wearing his Iron Man suit. Did he expect Loki to actually fight him? She swallowed thickly in apprehension. Slowly she closed her eyes, waiting for the worst but Loki let she go and slunk back further into the apartment, out of Iron Man's views, though not out of Jarvis'. She really appreciated the AI because he was really all the company she had the last few weeks, aside from a God who wanted nothing to do with she and made no efforts to keep that desire hidden from her. What was Tony thinking letting she live with the God of Lies of all well, Gods? She would have rather have listened to Thor chatter on about his obsession with Earthly things that he now had a fascination for.

"Hey, kiddo, how you doing?"

She gave him an incredulous look.


	2. Chapter 2

It was late and the storm was raging on. Mia couldn't sleep. Every roar of thunder, every crack of lightening staved off her sleep. She paused to stare up at the bruised, purple-black clouds inching their way menacingly across the sky like a slow and thick molasses, engulfing the once peaceful blue that was present during the day. The wind whipped outside. It was a violent storm. Fat drops of rain began to fall from the sky, landing with a machine gun-like rattle on the glass and everything in between. She sighed. It was her fourth week working for Stark. Since the incident a less than a week ago, Loki went back to ignoring her once more.

Any thought of sleep was long lost when she heard a terrified moan. She got to her feet. No one else was on the floor but she and Loki and unless Tony wanted JARVIS to try to scare you then it had to be the liesmith. Then the moan became a terrified scream. She ran to Loki's room, fearing for him. When she opened the door she found Loki on his bed. He was tossing and flinching in his sleep. His hands lay by his sides clutching at the blankets. He was having a nightmare. He was clearly agitated by something in the realms of his dreams. His eyes were flickering from behind his eyelids and his mouth moving slightly in a silent cry of 'no'. Streaks were stained across his pale skin from where he had cried. His head was tossing anxiously from side to side. His eyes were darting frantically behind his eyelids. Mia watched as his hands - one was digging into the sheets of his bed, while the other was now clutching convulsively at his shirt. She went to his side.

"Loki… Loki, wake up…" she whispered.

She gently touched Loki's shoulder, trying to shake him awake. She had been woken from nightmares in the same manner by her roommates or by her parents when she was younger. It was a dream after all, albeit a bad enough one to make even the seemingly emotionless God tremble in fear. It made her heart ache. It seemed that he too was mortal after all, capable of being rendered fearful because of dreams and perhaps memories of the past. She did not envy what he had gone through. Tears were rolling down his face and he was clawing at his lips until she had grabbed his wrists with her free hands in an attempt to get him to stop.

All in all that was a very bad idea.

Within seconds he had her flipped so that she was underneath him on the bed. His hands went around her throat. He was yelling something harshly in a language she didn't understand but her mind was too stunned to register what he said. One of her hands sought purchase in his shirt, trying to push him back while the other grabbed at his hands, trying to pluck them away. She couldn't scream for help but she still had some air left. She just hoped that JARVIS, the ever watchful AI, could get an alert to someone before she lost all air left. Tony promised that someone would be there to protect her. Why weren't they there yet?

"Lo-Loki!" she squeaked.

He squeezed tighter and she choked loudly. She tried to pry his hands off of her but he had some sort of monstrous strength. She was just a human and seeing as he was a God, there was no way to defeat him, so perhaps she could try out reasoning him. If she could at least manage him to relent on his hold a little bit then perhaps she would be able to escape long enough for an Avenger to get out of bed and get down there to help her figure out what it was that had Loki quaking in fear. But for now, she was on her own so she had to make do with what she could do otherwise, she may meet an untimely end. His eyes were clouded with sleep. He seemed to be on a different world entirely. Perhaps he was still stuck in the dream or lost in a memory. She didn't know.

"L-Loki, please!"

Tears were now welling up in her eyes. She couldn't breathe. Everything was going fuzzy around the edges of her vision. All she could see was Loki, choking the life out of her, a look of fury in his eyes. He would have killed her. She heard the door slam open. Before she could even blink, Loki was across the room. She was being hugged close to someone's chest. She was warm and air was finally allowed. She couldn't focus. She immediately thought of Steve, the sweet and innocent apple pie protector that he was. She clung back for dear life. Loki was now against the bookshelf. Thor had him pinned down with one hand. Mia was now wheezing, trying to recapture her breath. There were hands on her and she started thrashing until she realized it was just Bruce. She quivered as he examined her neck.

"You'll be okay," he assured her.

She only nodded slowly. A shadow loomed over her. She looked up, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw her bedraggled charge standing over her. Bruce and Steve were hovering protectively. Was that a green tint she saw to Banner's wrists? That certainly wasn't good, she dimly noted. He could go Hulk and then the apartment would be destroyed, no leveled because of the intensity of the Green-rage monster, as Tony put it. For some reason, the Hulk really hated Loki. She had no idea why but she was pretty sure it had something to do with the video feed that she had seen where Loki taunted Banner, calling him a monster and a beast who paraded as a man. She would be angry with Loki too but the God had been nicer to her until this point.

"L-Loki?" she squeaked.

He sank onto the bed with her before touching her neck, gently this time. It didn't matter. The damage had already been done. She still flinched when he neared her, expecting the worst despite his return to awareness. His gentle hand wiped away the tears in her eyes. Steve still held her like a baby doll, but she couldn't find the strength within herself to move, not when the super-soldier felt more like a shield than a person, and not when Loki was so close to you. But Steven relented slightly when he saw the pained expression on Loki's face, allowing him to see her a bit more.

"Loki, what's going on?" she rasped, "What scared you…?"

Loki felt frustration welling up inside of him. Emotions were something that he had sealed away long ago. How was he supposed to explain to her that he had a nightmare because of a moment in his life when his lips were sewn shut for the lies he told. Thor could tell what ailed him because he knew the signs of what happened after the nightmare. The scratches on Loki's face were clear indicators of what memory plagued the younger of the two Odinsons. Thor could barely look at his brother from shame, which was why the moment he saw the blood scratches upon his face, he let go. He was the one who was forced to sew Loki's mouth shut. He was the one who caused his brother the pain he felt and the shrieking nightmares of fear.

"I… I just… I'm sorry I shouldn't have barged in here…"

Now the guilt intermixed with his frustration. How he wished he could tell her what he was feeling, about his nightmares from his past but with his brother there, with Bruce and Steve there, listening, the words for once stuck in his throat. For once, the god of lies was struck speechless. Never before had anyone been so kind and so worried over his wellbeing that rushed to his aid unless it was in battle and even then, before he found out his true origins, he was mostly left on his own. He was used to the treatment so he never questioned it. It was also new for him that someone apologized for something that was rightfully his fault. He hurt her. He should have been the one to apologize and yet the words were as heavy as led.

"I just…" she paused, "Wanted to check on you… You don't want to talk much…"

"I am capable of speech," Loki argued.

He looked up, motioning for Thor to lead Bruce and Steve out of the room. His brother begrudgingly did that small favor for him, though grumbling the entire way. She straightened her posture, trying to seem strong, though she was still quivering like a leaf in the cold wind. Humans were weak creatures, yet this one, just kept trying with him. She made his meals, talking to him as she did so, though he never answered back. She tried to teach him about the planet's technology, though he just stared at her blankly. He would catch her off in a corner, for some alone time, writing or sketching something. He didn't know which because he never found the book she used but he knew it was one or the other. She was there, as a reminder that he had failed in his takeover of the planet. While it made him angry, he couldn't bring himself to necessarily hate her, but he didn't want to open up either.

"Just not with me," Mia retorted.

Loki winced. It was true. He hadn't spent any time with her since she was hired to watch over him. She pled for the job, asking to try to redeem him. At first he remained in his chains, despite the fact that she unbarred him and even removed the gag. After his punishment from his father, he was sentenced to earth to be dealt with. This human, was the only reason he was alive. She pleaded to Tony for a small internship to possibly try to rehabilitate him. His brother knew her well. Steve had long extended conversations with her through the glass door because he felt that she needed company. Tony teased her to conceal any attachment that he had for her. Clint complained less about her than he did about everyone else but the archer tended to watch from the air vents or higher perches when he thought that no one was paying attention.

"You wouldn't understand the troubles of a God," Loki said.

Mia frowned. She knew he wasn't going to clarify what his problems were and it hurt her. She looked away, trying to remain nonchalant about everything. It wasn't easy to be nonchalant when she was nearly choked to death by the God of Mischief. However she took a deep breath. Apparently, they weren't getting anywhere tonight. It was just frustrating that after an entire month, she had made no progress in trying to convince him that what he did was wrong and that Earth was a beautiful planet, worth protecting, not destroying. Tony really overestimated her abilities to talk to people it seemed. He was going to be very disappointed when you couldn't do what he hired you to do in the first place. Curse your soft heart. Thor was just so convinced his brother could be saved from himself that you had to try.

"Fine… I see how it is… I'll leave you to your thoughts then," she said.

She got to her feet so she could walk out. Her chest ached and she knew she wasn't going to have very much sleep that night. If she did, it would only be to dream of being choked once more and she may be the one screaming in her sleep. It wasn't something she was too keen on. Perhaps she should just go listen to her ipod while she lay in bed and try to forget everything that happened. It was as task easier said than done but music sounded calming enough. She may as well as go have some mint tea as well. She had one with chamomile that could knock her into an unconscious oblivion of sleep within an hour. AN hour with her thoughts didn't seem as bad as staying up all night, fearing that something else was going to happen.

"Wait…" he said, even softer than before, "Don't go yet… We can talk."

He motioned for her to sit back down next to him, patting the comforter that sat lopsided on his bed from the way he had been tangled in the sheets in a distraught mess. Mia did so, feeling uncomfortable and a little worried at the same time. _'I wonder what he wants to talk about…'_ Mia thought, _'It seems important to him… but… just what is he thinking?' _If only he would talk to her. She may not understand with his issues but she could empathize. She could be sympathetic towards what he went through. She would never truly understand his pain. No two pains were the same. No two people endured the suffering the same way. So if she had been in Loki's shoes, she would have dealt with it differently because that was who she was.

"My issues are something you do not want to get into…" Loki said, "Is my brother-"

"No!" Mia nearly shouted, "I'm worried about you! You haven't been eating and don't you dare lie to me and say you've slept in the past three days…"

She bowed her head when she realized how loud she was getting. If she got any louder, JARVIS would call back the Avengers. She had been lucky that they responded so quickly. Any later and she may not have been there, but they would automatically assume she was in danger once more if they were called back so quickly. They were probably waiting for her outside the glass door, just to make sure that she was okay. They only left the room because Thor had ushered everyone out to give his brother a moment. They didn't trust Loki any further than they could throw them and while Bruce may not have been able to throw Loki, the Hulk could and he would gladly do so.

"Please, I just want to help you," Mia reasoned, "If you just talk to m-"

"I cannot," Loki snapped.

Mia blinked in surprise. He had never gotten short with her before. Then she bowed her head. He had never forced her to do something she didn't want to. She got to her feet. She was fighting a losing battle. Tomorrow, she would just tell Tony she couldn't do it because this lack of progress was killing her. She hated giving up but when he refused to talk, what more could she do? She nodded solemnly at her own decision. It may have been something difficult for her to face. Loki would be no better off than she was. If she gave up on him now, he would probably be taken to court for his crimes and sentenced to either death or life in prison. She heard something about Doctor Reed Richards creating a prison for super powered criminals in a negative universe where, if they managed to break out of their cells, there was nowhere to go.

"I understand…"

"Goodnight, Loki," she told him.

Then she left him in his room, closing the door gently behind her, ready to sink to the floor in defeat. But she caught eyes watching her and refrained from showing the weakness she wanted to. She did find the Avengers but not as far off as she thought they would have been to her surprise. They were outside the door instead, shifting anxiously, like they had heard something they shouldn't have. Bruce tried to touch her shoulder and she shrugged away and went to her room. She didn't want to talk about it. There was nothing to talk about, not if Loki was too afraid of himself to talk about his own problems. What she didn't know was that as she lay, tossing and turning on her bed in her room, Loki lay just as restless, just as uneasy in his bed in his room.

* * *

"So on a scale of Justin Hammer in a tutu to Afghanistan, how bad was Loki's nightmare last night?"

"Tony-"

"I'm serious, Mia."

"Nine point nine," she responded.

Tony gave a whistle. He really did look concerned about the god. Maybe everyone was starting to see that justice was served. She really hoped so. But now that she was leaving, it seemed that it didn't matter anymore. It just seemed that nothing could shake Loki that deeply until she heard him screaming. She hadn't slept. She could still hear the echoing screams of agony and the way his face looked in the morning hurt her deeply. That morning she had given her typed of her letter of resignation. Now she was handing it to Tony, to let him know that she felt that Loki was beyond help, even hers. She couldn't help him, if he wouldn't help himself.

"I don't think I can do this," she admitted.

"So you're giving up? Just like that?"

"Yeah… I guess I am…"


	3. Chapter 3

"Why have you come here?" Loki demanded, "Haven't you given up on me?"

She wanted to beg him to be the Loki she knew, the one who hadn't hurt her and didn't despise her existence. He couldn't even look at her. She bowed her head. She had to come back and get her things. Tony wouldn't make it easy on her of course. He was disappointed that she was giving up on Loki. She had to bow her head and take her breakfast from Steve that morning because he too was giving her a disapproving look. It was the type of look that made her innards feel like they were being twisted with a knife. Why was he so good at giving such a frowning look? Tony said it was because he was a professional. She couldn't really doubt that.

"Look at me," Mia begged, "Why won't you look at me?"

"I don't want you here," Loki said.

"I see…"

Some times caring for something meant letting go, even when you wanted to hang on tighter. If Loki was happy in leaving then she was too. Even if it meant sealing up her heart, locking it away, she would do it. She would miss him more than anything she could remember. Her heart would openly bleed from this for years to come, perhaps even the rest of her life. The God of Mischief had affected her _that_ much. This was the biggest regret of her life, even more than the time in third grade when she cheated on her math test or the time in high school when she didn't ask anyone out to go to prom with her.

"I thought if I kept you out of this…" Loki gestured around them, "It would be the same as keeping you safe."

Mia tilted her head to the side. She didn't understand. She was probably the safest one in the room. If Loki put so much as a toe out of line, the Avengers would be there, jumping down his throat with weapons drawn. He had a thoughtful expression on his face. He tried to keep people out so that they didn't try to help him, so that they didn't get hurt because of his past and yet Mia was so intent to talk to him, to get him to open up that he wouldn't let him push her away. Every time he did she only got back up and tried again. Mia was stubborn, something he hated to admit but it was true. He was just afraid to let someone in. People who he had met in the past had said that his anger would be swift and deadly, raging like the rain that lashes at the windowpanes.

"I only wanted to save one thing, just one…" Loki mumbled, "To prove I was as good as you claimed I was…"

He closed his eyes for a moment, covering them with his fingers. Mia took his hands, drawing them away from his face. They were as cold as ice. It made sense, considering his ethnicity. And really, he came to earth. He expected to be hated and scorned because he was different but the earth had so many races and ethnicities. How could he be hated? There were those from Africa, the Europeans, the Americans, the Asians, and well so many more races her head could spin. People loved and hated each other despite these differences but they were all still humans and were still living on the same planet with one another. Appearance meant nothing. Race could cause some hiccups here or there but it was still accepted. Gender was still in debate sometimes. Humans were confusing but they were capable of love.

"What are you doing to yourself?" Mia asked, "What's going on?"

"It's not that simple…" Loki said.

"Damn it!" Mia swore.

Anger boiled through her. For once she wanted to know, to actually be a part of what he was thinking! She was now glaring coldly at the God. He supposed that she was lucky that she hadn't managed to make him angry enough to snap completely but she had to have known that he was in near constant pain because of his past, even if he wasn't ever going to tell her his life story any time soon. For him sometimes it hurt to move, it hurt to breathe, and sometimes it even hurt to exist. There were moments where he just wanted to end it all and be done with it. Something always held him back whenever he tried to end it. Some small voice in the back of his head just told him to keep holding on, that someone would help him but then began the cycle of pushing them away again.

"Loki, stop doing this!" she roared, "Tell me what's going on!"

Loki shook his head. She squeezed his hand tighter. She was now trying to keep tears out of her eyes. She knew what he was expecting of her and she wasn't sure if she could provide what he wanted. His palms began to sweat and she could see he was having some problems looking at her. She wanted to put a hand on his shoulder, to make him look at her so he could see that he wasn't alone. Other people had faced such trials too and they kept moving forward like she did but she didn't want to overstep a boundary that she had no right to break. His self-sacrificing nobility was really starting to get on her nerves. If she left like she was planning, Fury was planning on interrogating him, which Natasha and Clint informed everyone included torture. He had already had his lips sewn shut. No more harm should come to him.

"I don't care if it's for my own good or whatever excuse you have!"

She started to hit his chest with her hands, trying to cause harm but not really putting enough force behind it to actually hurt him. Each fist hardly even mussing up his clothes. Tears swam in her line of vision. Loki sat up a little straighter now. He was about to her off but he saw the damp liquid regret. She really didn't want to hurt him the way she was. He knew it. He longed to place his hands in her hair and just chase away the tears but she was a mere mortal. Her life would be gone the moment he blinked so there he was, staring at the sun, trying not to blink away the pain of something so fleeting.

"I don't deserve your kindness…" Loki said, "Nor should you have to see me at my weakest."

Loki walked across the room, trying to get some distance but she followed him. When he sat down near the window to look outside his prison, Mia knelt down next to him. Slowly he looked up at her, trying to convey to her silently that she should just leave. When she finally did look into Loki's eyes and smiled the God froze. It wasn't her usual enthusiastic smile, or the whimsical one that meant she was thinking deeply about something. This one was slow and soft, and in some ways, sad. For once he found that he couldn't read Mia like a book, noting every thought and emotion just from the way she stood or spoke or smiled. This moment was too complex to describe in any one thought or feeling.

"Thor wouldn't want to see you like this," Mia said softly.

"How would you know? You've been denying his friendship since the day you came to hover over me!" Loki shouted, "You don't know anything about friends!"

She barely reacted when Loki pushed her away angrily. Mia knew he was angry. She could see that Loki's usual control over his emotions was lessened, and that in turn he was not as careful with his tongue as usual. Every emotion he had buried away was coming out, and it seemed most of his negative emotions involved with friendship and loyalty was being pushed to the surface. His doubts were out there for the world to see. If he hadn't been those words might have cut a little deeper to home than she would have liked. How much sorrow could one being bear? It was as though something pervasive and tangible lies within his body, burdening his every movement with a sense of finality.

Maybe if he was different, his vision would be blurring with unshed tears. Maybe he would be more furious? She would never know. She liked Loki how he was. Mia somehow grazed a hand upon his cheek, arm lifting of its own accord. Loki was staring at her in surprise. No one had willingly touched him in centuries aside from Thor. His acclaimed brother was nowhere near as gentle as the human in front of him. Mia was seemingly unable to choose what to do next with someone so vulnerable beside her. She was about to pull her hand back when Loki's hand grazed hers. She froze as he pressed her hand to his face.

"You're right," Mia admitted, "But I've changed Loki and so can you! People change!"

She reached for him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. He stiffened under her hold. Only his mother Frigga had hugged him as a child and that was only when he was a child or when he had done something exceptional as an adult. He recalled the last time she had hugged him was when he had saved Odin from Laufey – a problem of his own doing. She had given him an enthusiastic hug and then Thor burst in, ruining his life. But it was through Mia's teachings that he found that it was partially his fault. He was the one who set everything up, he just didn't like the idea of accepting the fact that all of his hurts were his fault.

"Why…?" Loki asked.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you holding onto me like this?" Loki clarified.

Mia gave a weak smile into his neck as she held him tightly. Of all the things to ask, he had to question why she was hugging him. Clearly his priorities were not set straight. Why she there still was a good question to ask. Perhaps that was why Tony told her to gather her own things, because he knew that the only one who would be able to convince her not to go was Loki himself. She would stay, she knew this much now. She thought she could abandon him but now she knew she couldn't. She wouldn't ever be able to forget the God. She hoped it went both ways. Gods did not age like humans. She hoped that one day after she had passed, he would still remember her.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Mia asked.

"I will admit… I'm not used to it," Loki admitted.

Mia's eyes widened. She had been the one to give him his first hugs since his mother perhaps. Steve didn't go around randomly hugging people. Steve and Clint were far too masculine to go and do so themselves unless it involved pinning the other to the ground and dangling spittle over the head of the pinned. It was disgusting and not quite a hug in Mia's book at all. It was more or less just wresting that turned a little farther sour than she would have liked. The idea of Natasha hugging someone was only possible if she was also stabbing in the back. Bruce shied away from human contact… And Thor, well, Thor's hugs were more like a full body pinning experience. Mia pulled back. She looked deeply into Loki's eyes.

"You're afraid…" Mia realized, "Is… that why you keep your distance?"

"I was… always alone…" Loki said slowly, "My family…"

He couldn't continue but he didn't need to. She knew how things were with his family, or at least his adoptive family. Thor had explained enough and Frigga, for some reason, had used her own magic to enter her mind at night while she dreamed and spoke to her, telling her things with an unbiased perspective. Mia understood. She thanked the Goddess over and over. But the Goddess thanked her as well, for not giving up on her son. Now she felt like she was letting the woman down, not working hard enough for her. Mia took a deep breath and steadied her resolve. She wouldn't give up now. They were making progress.

"Loki… You missed out on all the good things in life…"

This time he pulled her back in for the hug, wishing for more contact and less talking. Talking always reminded him of Thor, of the times they shared together when they believed that they were close. He really should have realized from the start that he never fit in, that he didn't belong. He was a freak, even amongst Asgardians. He practiced magic, they practiced swords craft. They preached honor, valor and morality. He was the God of Lies, Mischief and Chaos. He never wanted to rule Misgard. He just wanted to prove to everyone he was better than what they believed of him. The path had been lonely.

"I liked it like this," Mia admitted.

"Huh?"

"When I was little my mom would hug me," Mia explained, "Whenever I was scared or confused… Dad too… But he doesn't do a lot of hugging anymore…"

Loki understood she was trying to take his mind off the things that had almost happened. He still believed that she would leave him so he would make her stay, even if he had to lie through his teeth to do it, even if he had to swear off of lying, if it would make her stay. It was working. He was forgetting about how he had almost pushed her away. He was still wary that she would leave, but if he played his cards right, he would make it so that was very much impossible for her. He didn't know that it had already happened. She would ever be able to forget him, just as he knew that when she grew past the age of her life, he would never forget her.

"I'm not your mother or your father," Loki teased half heartedly.

"I would hope not!"

For a while the two of them just sat there, hugging one another for the comfort that they sought. He had problems, she knew this. He would still need coaxing and encouragement to get out of his phase of trying to take over the world, but if he had something to ground him, a friendship, or even more, then perhaps he would see that the earth was something worth fighting for. She had already heard his whispers of terror in sleep from his punishment and what had happened before he had been granted power by the Chitari. Thanos was often on his lips as were the words no and please. Nightmares hadn't gotten easier but progressively worse.

"Loki?"

"Yes, Mia?"

"No one can predict the future…" Mia told him, "There are no guarantees…"

They both flinched as orange light bathed the balcony they were sitting on. They looked up. The sun burned through the mist with desert power, desert brightness, and suddenly the gloom of the morning was fighting a losing battle. Renewed vigor flowed through their veins. She wasn't leaving. He would be tentative around her, she knew this, but she was going to prove to him that he wasn't as alone in the universe as he believed, even if it took the rest of her life to do it.


End file.
